The TRUTH about Sports

Less than 24 hours after the Detroit Pistons were eliminated from the playoffs by the Bostons Celtics, the Detroit Red W
ings went to Pittsburgh and stole game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, beating the Penguins 2-1. It’s all but over for the Pens, as Detroit will look to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup on Monday as they host the Penguins for Game 5. The Penguins went up 1-0 in the first period but Detroit tied it up before the intermission. The 2nd period was scoreless and Detroit went ahead early in the 3rd. The Redwings just looked more experienced and calm on the ice. Not to say that the Penguins didn’t belong there, but there time will come; just not this year. So for all of you living in the Motor City, keep your head up, at least there’s hockey. As for the Pistons, this was probably their last chance as the window to the NBA Finals seems to be closing fast.

How can a pitcher go from top of the world to the dumpster in less than a year. Well, ask Detroit Tigers SP Justin Verlander. Last year, Verlander went 18-6 with over 200 innings pitched and 183 strikeouts and a 3.66 era. This year, Verlander is 2-8 with an era over 5. He hasn’t won on the road yet. His losses have come against teams like the Royals, Twins, Mariners, and White Sox. I guess I’m a little more agitated because I drafted this guy as my ace on my fantasy league. It’s not like the Tigers offense got worse from last year. They added 3b phenom Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins, along with Sheffield, Renteria, Granderson, Ordonez, and Pudge, there’s no reason for this guy to not be putting up monster numbers. Merchanics, shmechanics, this guy better shape up before he finds himself ont he free agent list…in my league of course. I’m pretty sure the Tigers front office has a little more patience than Yahoo’s Bea Arthur League III.

It was set in stone since the first day. The NBA wanted it. The networks wanted it. Vegas wanted it. The fix is in… right? Or maybe it’s just the two best teams in their respective conferences that outplayed the rest and are peaking at the right time. Surely that can be said about the Los Angeles Lakers who dominated every post-season opponent and have the leagues MVP in Kobe Bryant. The Celtics on the other hand, 3 perennial all-starts in Garnett, Pierce and Allen who took down the Pistons in Detroit on Friday night. That’s right folks, their first playoff road victory after 6 unsuccessful tries. Peaking? Sure. But is it enough. At this point, it looks like LA should roll all over the Celts. The ONLY thing the Celtics have going for them is home court. With Ray Allen struggling on offense, I’m not sure if Pierce and Garnett can handle the Lakers high powered offense. We know about the Lakers’ bench mob. Stay tuned for more analysis, we’re in for a great finals, or at least an all-star
studded one.

And oh yeah, the Lakers advance to the finals too. I’ve never seen a player that can turn it on at any given time. Kobe is probably, no definitely the best player to ever play the game. Yes, EVER (sorry MJ). He is unstoppable. He’s at the peak of his game; I can’t imagine him getting any better. On Thursday night, the Lakers went down by 17, didn’t panic, then beat the "World Champion" Spurs. Thanks to Kobe and his 39 points on 16-30 shooting. That’s over 50% for a shooting guard that’s was supposedly being guarded by one of the better defensive players in the league. Sure he’s one of the most hated players in the league, selfish, smellfish, but the guy finally has some decent talent around him and look at the gaudy numbers he puts up game in, game out. You can bet that both Eastern Conference teams were cheering for the Spurs to go to the finals. Talk about matchups and mis-matches… Time to start the parade in LA, I wonder who’ll do the Mark Madsen dance this year???

To quote the Tombstone villain Johnny Ringo "Well, I didn’t think you would show." 29 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 5-6 from range, Ray Allen has finally arrived folks. I’m not sure if this is a fluke or not but he stepped up big tonight against the Detroit Pistons. Coupled with 33 from Kevin Garnett and a monster double-double from center Kendrick Perkin, the Celts edged out the Pistons. I must say, he’s got one of the prettiest shots this blogger has ever seen. After trading for Ray in the offseason, he’s been nothing but a disappointment during the post season. If Ray starts peaking it’s gonna make a Lakers v. Celtics finals a lot more interesting. Now all Boston needs to fix is the lack of contribution from their bench, 3 total points in Game 5, not gonna cut it. Not against Sasha, Ronny, Farmar, and Luke.

The Los Angeles Lakers went to San Antonio, took the lead right off the open tip and never relinquished it. Up by 7 seconds with 53 seconds left, the Lakers hung on to win by 2. Thanks to a no call on a last second missed 3-point attempt by Brent Barry (gracias Mr. Crawford 😉 it’s off to LA with a 3-1 lead and the Spurs on the brink of elimination. I must say that this is one of the best post seasons ever. The four teams left are the best in their respective conference. At this point, if I’m a Lakers fan (and I am) I think the Celtics are an easier opponent for LA. Detroit just has that toughness and mystique and can create mismatches for the Lakers. I might be counting my chickens but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that the conspiracy theorists out there might be on point, LA-BOSTON series coming to fruition.

I’m sitting and watching the Game
4 of the Spurs-Laker series and I’ve realized one thing: Luke Walton doesn’t deserve to be in the NBA. He entered the game with 4:33 seconds left in the 1st quarter, Lakers up 22-9. At 4:18 he traveled. At 2:57 he missed a layup. At 2:48 he missed a 3-pointer. At 1:47 he was tagged with an offensive foul. At :27 he missed another layup. He did however hit 2 freethrows. End of the quarter, 28-23 plus a nice verbal lashing by Kobe, deservedly so. I don’t want ever want to hear that this guy has high basketball I.Q. He single handedly killed the Lakers’ mojo. The game’s still going on which means that he has plenty of time to screw things up even more. Can someone say Trevor Ariza?

Was there any doubt that the Detroit Pistons were gonna win this game? Game 4, Monday night and the Detroit Pistons evened up the series, handling the Boston Celtics 94-75. I’ve never seen such lopsided scores in my life. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the fix was in. Ray Allen was back to his assy shooting self again, going 0-3 from range and 2-8 from the field. Paul Pierce’s 3-14 didn’t help much either. It’s a good thing both of these guys got to the line or else they’d would’ve scored a combined 10 points. As for the Big Ticket, let me start off by reminding you readers that I love him and he’s my idol. With that disclaimer, get back in the paint Garnett. You’ve been shooting more outside jumpers that anyone on your team. As a big man myself, I know it’s funner to shoot 20 foot jumpers than bang around for a dirty 3 foot baby hook. BUT, I’m not getting paid the big bucks and the Celtics legacy isn’t on my shoulders. You still have home court. Go back home, take a day to relax, get your ass down to the box and start punishing Rasheed Wallace, McDyess, and Jason Maxiell, you remember him, he blocked you from behind on a wide open dunk. That’s what you get for lollygagging. I do have to give props to Antonio McDyess, this guy is having the best postseason he’s had in his life. Without Dice, the Pistons would be sipping on cocktails in the Carribean. Game 5 on Wednesday, should be Boston’s turn to win. Put the house on ’em.

Did I hear someone say "the Spurs don’t stand a chance against the Lakers?" OK, maybe I said but hey, they proved me wrong. On Sunday afternoon, in must win situation at home against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs "Big 3" stepped it up and stepped all over the Lakeshow. Manu Ginobli played like Kobe, dropping 30 on the Lakers, including five 3-pointers in the first half. He exposed Sasha Vujacic who tried to guard him for half the game. Duncan finished with a monster double-double, 22pts, 21 rbds. I just don’t understand how a team loses by 30 then just two days later, lays a 19 points whooping on the very same team. I know, I know, home court, home court, but a 50 point switch? The fans seemingly have more to do with the game than we thought. But then again, look what happened to Utah and they only lost 4 at home during the regular season. Let’s see what happens in game 4 on Tuesday. I’d say that the Lakers should respond and take it down but I’ve been wrong on almost every call. Hopefully Lamar Odom will come to play, along with the rest of the Lakers (sans Kobe). If not, back to square one and back to LA for game 5.

Somebody arrest Andruw Jones for stealing $36.2 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 31 year old outfielder’s season just got worse. He’s hitting the DL after injuring his knee. He’s gonna need surgery and will be out at least 4-6 weeks. I’m sure he’ll be back soone (that’s internet sarcasm). I wonder why the Braves let the 31 year old "franchise" go so easily? Maybe they knew he was going to bat .165, 2 hr, 7 rbi after 43 games. Maybe they knew he was going to have his worse season EVER. I’m thinking the time off should do Jones some good. I don’t blame him for signing the contract. He’s gotta get his. I blame the Dodgers’ front office for another bad signing. You think they would’ve learned their lesson after the Jason Schmidt fiasco. At least Joe Torre is still healthy. And what a
stellar job he’s been doing. I wonder if Jones can manage while he’s on the DL and Torre can play CF? I’m getting to emotional about this… I have to remember to
think blue, think blue, think blue, think blues, think blues, think blues…